Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

214 reviews

sareidle's review

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship and Racism

Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, Rape, Grief, Cursing, and Injury/Injury detail

nad_books623's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

All the characters were insufferable tbh but I think that was the point?? The book is an interesting comment on social media, how fame can change people, race, and privilege. The story was well written but there is something missing and I don’t think I would read it again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Mental illness, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Gaslighting, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Sexual assault

lightscamerazaction's review

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Racial slurs, Death, Toxic friendship, and Stalking

foresturken's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Grief, Racism, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, and Racial slurs

vanessaeco's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny informative reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Rape

limepanda's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The ending is so abrupt 😭😭

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death, Gaslighting, Racism, and Emotional abuse

alphabetmafiamember's review

funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Death, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Violence, Sexual assault, Stalking, Grief, Gaslighting, Bullying, Alcohol, Rape, Sexual violence, Mental illness, and Vomit

Minor: Islamophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Murder, Death of parent, and War

k8lynn's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

i loved this book and simultaneously hated every single thing Juniper did. she was a cery unlikeable character and i did not sympathize with her morivations whatsoever. it was challenging to read the POV of a "villain" doing something so ethically wrong, and i really wanted to see her get what she had coming to her, but certain people always seem to get off scotch-free. i really enjoyed how this was written, i especially enjoyed the audiobook form, and i felt engaged right off the bat from the first chapter/athena's death scene. this a great read, especially for those who hate plaigarists and people who try to be someone they're not because it challenges you to see from the other side. the ending didn't fall flat for me; if anything it just showed how Juniper will not stop her toxic ways.

also, reverse racism is totally not a thing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical content, Racism, Bullying, Racial slurs, Violence, Death, Emotional abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Xenophobia

jessife's review against another edition

challenging dark lighthearted reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Read this in two days, found it pretty gripping. It has its flaws but overall I found it thought-provoking in its expose of micro-aggressions, and was interested in the insights into the publishing industry. Having a very unlikeable narrator could be jarring 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Rape, War, Xenophobia, Grief, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Racism, Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Suicidal thoughts

fashi0nablefr0g's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.5

The first half of this book was extremely difficult to read, in that the characters are immediately established as impossible to like or sympathise with. It was slow, and felt like a lesson on how books are edited and published. I disliked how the author is so pushy about the main themes — there is one "correct" way to look at the themes in this book, but the author doesn't let you decide that for yourself. It's like they want you to think a certain thing, but don't trust the reader to infer that, so they constantly spell it out and shove it down your throat. The lack of any redeeming qualities in the main character makes it impossible to feel any sympathy whatsoever, so you feel disconnected from the book the whole way through. The dead author Athena feels like a self-insert or something.. the main character hates her, and always describes how perfect and successful she was, and she was jealous of Athena, but finds no fault in her — this is so unrealistically portrayed that it is painful to read. I also struggled with the pop references jammed into each paragraph of this book. Normally I'm not a fan anyway, but it was overdone in Yellowface. I understand how it was meant to feed in to the story, but it's "current" references could've been omitted and the book would've maintained a shred of timelessness.

The second half of the book was incredibly rushed. There was no "plot twist" in the end, no sort of redemption or even real downfall of the main character. The cycle continues and you finish the book with no new ideas or knowledge, nothing to show other than time you wasted reading it. The final 50% was just a series of "shocking" events shoved in one after another, the author desperately trying to link them together to add depth after a flat first half. The only thing that kept me picking up this book was the desire to get it over with, but it was very nearly one I didn't finish.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Bullying, and Cultural appropriation

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Xenophobia, Grief, and Mental illness

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, War, Vomit, Violence, and Sexual assault